Improvement in portable fences



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. l

ALLEN 'RIGHT, 0F YESTFIELD, NEW YORK;

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE FENCES" Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,738, dated January 20, 18Z4; application iiled December 13, 1873.

To all who-m `it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN WRIGHT, of lVestfield, in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exa-ct description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsand to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this speciiication.

My invention relates to the class of fences known as picket-fences; and it consists in the construction of the fence-posts, the mode of connecting the panels to the posts, and in the mode of connecting the panels to each other, whereby a light portable fence is obtained, which can be easily put up and taken down, and in which at least every other panel may be used as a gate, as will be hereinafter more g i'ully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention apperta-ins to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe .its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure l is a front view of a portion of my fence. Fig. 2 is a crosssection of the same through line .r a', and Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections through the connections be tween the post and the panels.

Each panel of my fence is composed of two horizontal boards, A and B, placed ilatwise, as shown in Figs. 3 and et, and having a series of round pickets, C C, passed vertically through them. I do not, however, coniine myself particularly to the round form of the pickets, as they may be made of any shape desired, only so that they pass through the horizontal boards, obviating the necessity of using nails or screws, which is one of the objects of my invention. Each fence-post is composed of a sill or bedpiece, D, an upright, G,

and two braces, E E. The sill D is mortised in the center for the reception ofthe lower end of the upright G. which is fastened by means of a wedge, a, as shown in Fig. 2 The braces E E are notched into the sill D,

and may be also notched into the upright.

The post G is slotted vertically from the up-` in Fig. 4, so that this board may be moved or slid downward on the forked upright and rest at the bottom of the slot therein. The

upper horizontal board B has corresponding notches b, but these are made dovetailed, as shown in Fig. 3, and the extreme upper ends of the prongs 'of the upright G are correspondingly dovetailed. This dovetail is cut in such-a manner that the prongs of the upright are prevented from spreading outward.

In the construction of my fence, a panel thus supported by two of the posts described forms every alternate panel of my fence. The other panels are constructed in precisely the same manner, and are connected to those supported by the post by having their horizontal boards overlapping each other, as shown in Fig. 1, and a singler round picket, H, passed through holes in the ends of the horizontal boards. This picket H is formed' with a head, I, at its upper end to prevent it from falling through.

It will readily be seen that in a fencethus constructed every other panel may be used as a gate by simply drawing out` the picket H at one end, when the panel may swing on the corresponding picket at the other end. This fence is easily made, and can be put up and taken down with very little trouble, yet

when put up it is strong and durable. It

can also easily be arranged as a worm-fence.

The post Dl E G I propose to use a-s gateposts, even in the felice, where I use the post D E G.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the slotted upright i G having the ends of its prongs dovetailed, the board A with square notches b," and the 1mm-d 13 with dovetailed notches d, substau- I strueted and arranged as and for the pi'poise tially as and for the purposes herein set forth. specified.

2. X portable straight or Worm fence every In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as other panel of which forms a gate with all its my own I affix my siglrla-ture in presence of parts demehably Connected, the boards A two witnesses.

und B having perforatons for pickets C, the Vtlesses: ALLE;T VRTG HT. l Top board doxf'etniled to receive braces G, and H. M. VRIGHT, i perforated for the round pickets H, all con- M, S. CHESTER. 

